Forged By Faith

2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV Well, it's the last day of November. We're down to the final month of 2020, and for many it seriously feels like we're limping to the finish line. The past eight or nine months have brought all kinds of interesting things into our lives. A lot of challenges, a lot of changes, and a lot of things that none of us ever saw coming. Been the most interesting and difficult year many of us have ever experienced. But here's one thing that we should take away from it all. It's over. It's behind us. All those bad things that happened are in the past. Now I understand that we're still dealing with many of them, the virus and the changes it has made will probably stick around for a while. But we need to stop dwelling on the past so much. We can end up spending so much time looking back that we miss out on what's happening here and now. We risk missing what God has still to come. And no matter what's happened recently, the best is still ahe...

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV With having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I've been thinking a lot about all we have to be thankful for. This year it seems that many of those blessings and gifts have been forgotten or overshadowed by all the struggles. And they get even further obscure when you add in the fact that we have a bad habit of taking them for granted. In reality, as I've always said, we have more to be thankful for than we do to complain about. And it's about time that we remember that. The problem that we often run in to is that it's hard to be thankful when we're focused on all the wrong things. If we're always busy looking at our problems, weaknesses, struggles, and challenges then we're going to miss all the blessings that are pouring in. Life will always be a mix of good and bad, hard and easy. The bad will always be there, but the good things will too. It's completely on us what we choose to look at. This past week I've shared Bible verse p...

Philippians 4:19 NIV There is a huge difference between what we want and what we need. Our wants come from this place of selfishness. They're the product of thinking that having certain things or getting things our way will lead us to happiness. But in truth, joy is not found in having everything we want in life. It's only found when we realize that God has always made sure we have everything we need. The problem with focusing too much on what we want is that it will inevitably lead us to disappointment and possibly even anger when it doesn't turn out that way. We should all be well aware of the fact that life doesn't go how we want it to go. We don't always get what we want. But that should never lead us to being upset or frustrated. Getting upset whenever we don't get what we want can easily turn into doubting God's faithfulness. That's definitely not a place we ever want to go. The fact is that God is more faithful than we can comprehend. He has alway...

Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV Today I'm thankful that we're following a God that doesn't get surprised by life. We often do. This year is about the best example of that that I can think of. Uncertainty, doubt, worry, confusion, misunderstandings, all of them are part of life. But God doesn't deal with those things. He knows what's up ahead and He's already ready for it. So what do we have to worry about? I think so many of us try to stay one step ahead of life. We want our ducks in a row before we know how many ducks we have to line up. We want everything organized, planned, and scheduled so that we know what to expect. We think that knowing what comes next is how we find peace in life. But peace isn't about knowing what the future is going to be like. Peace is knowing that the future is in God's hands no matter how it turns out. The main thing that we need to always keep in mind is that God's with us. We might be facing something difficult but He's there...

Mark 16:15 NIV Today I'm thankful to be able to do this. Being able to share the Gospel, reflect on the truths in God's word, and connect with fellow believers around the world. I think in our modern world we take all of these instant connections for granted. We're able to talk to people that we will never ever meet face to face. That kind of opportunity is seriously huge, and definitely something to be thankful for! Think back about the people that heard this message first-hand. To "go into all the world" meant a lot of work. It meant a lot of time. They couldn't jump on Facebook and share a Bible verse. They couldn't send someone a text asking if they could pray with them. They didn't get the chance to tell someone in Alaska about who Jesus Christ is. They had to walk, ride, or travel massive distances just to meet someone else. But we can do it instantly. We have opportunities that those people back then would never have imagined. A week or so ago I...

Proverbs 13:4 NIV Today I'm thankful to know the value of working for something. In such a highly entitled generation, hard work and personally achieving something isn't all that popular. People just want things. They want to get their way. They want to have all the wealth and possessions they desire. They want to be liked and respected. But not many are willing to work for things anymore. The amount of entitlement in our world today is disgusting. It was different when I was growing up. We were taught that if you wanted something bad enough then you'd be willing to work for it. If you wanted to change something then you'd fight to get it done. If you wanted to be respected by others then you worked to earn that respect and you also showed it in return. That's all been lost somewhere along the way. Nowadays people are just focused on what they want, but they ignore the work part. They don't want to have to sweat to earn anything. But I will tell you from persona...

Matthew 6:14 NIV Today I'm thankful for forgiveness. It's one of the biggest gifts that we've ever been given, and it's one of the most powerful gifts we can offer anyone else. With all of the mistakes that we make on a daily basis, the hope of being forgiven is the fuel that encourages us to fight harder to do better. So for this second day of Thanksgiving week, remember that you're forgiven! You know I've looked back and recounted all the errors I've made in the past. Boy are there some doozies! I remember things that I've said and done before in life that I honestly can't believe. Thinking about it now it seriously seems like a totally different person. How could I have possibly done that? So many things that I cannot imagine doing now. I'm betting we can all say the same. That's the beauty of being forgiven. Those shameful and embarrassing mistakes don't define us. They don't tell the whole story because God's the writer and H...

Ecclesiastes 4:10 NIV As you probably know, this week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Now in my opinion being thankful has always been more than a single holiday in November. We should be thankful every single day for all of the gifts we've been given in life. I think that's true this year as much as ever before. We've all faced so many changes and challenges and it's crucial to remember that we have plenty to be thankful for even in the midst of so much chaos. So this week I'm going to take each day and post about just a few of the things that we have to celebrate. Today is all about those people that God puts in our lives for us to lean on. Let's face it, no matter how strong or independent we think we are, we all need others. We all need people to talk to, to get advice from, and to help us grow and improve ourselves. Thankfully God knows that too! So He places our friends and family in our lives to help us along this journey of life. He gives us people who love u...

Luke 17:17-18 NIV I saw someone share this passage earlier today and it's just too good of a message to not share! It's the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers who were waiting for Him as He travelled between Samaria to Galilee. He sent them to the priests to show that He had cleansed them, but only one of the men turned back and thanked Him for His mercy and healing. How often are we the other nine? How many times does God answer that prayer only for us to move right along without saying anything? How often does God send healing and forgiveness that we never thank Him for? How many of His countless blessings do we simply take for granted and never even acknowledge? We need to stop overlooking His mercy and kindness in our lives. We're all those lepers in need of cleansing. We're those lost sheep praying to be found so we can get back home. We're the woman who has been suffering for years just hoping to be healed. We're the worst of the worst, the sinners who ...

1 Corinthians 11:28 NIV Okay, so this one is different. I was walking down the hallway just now and the word 'introspective' popped in my head. Definitely not a word that I use or think of very much, if at all. Then I sat down to check my email and I had one about this new Christian artist who has a new album coming out called Introspections. For that obscure word to pop up out of nowhere twice is seriously pretty weird! But then it got me to thinking about how important introspection really is. We need to keep track of where we and who we're becoming. So many of us just get busy rushing through life and may never take a second just to reflect on us. We don't consider that we may be forming some bad habits or picking up some of the foolish ways of the world around us. We often don't realize that there's an issue until it has grown into a massive problem. So we need to make sure to take a little bit of time and simply take stock of where we are. We need to evalua...

Galatians 1:10 NIV Today's post is a simple reminder that you have nothing to prove. So many of us go through life thinking that we need to earn the approval and acceptance of everyone around us. In doing so, we can easily start putting their expectations above God's. And no matter how important or powerful they may be, their opinion of us will never matter as much as God's does! It's like this world has developed some kind of weird test that everyone has to pass. So many lofty expectations. You have to look a certain way, dress a certain way, act, speak, and live a certain way in order to gain value. And if you don't check off every single box then you're cast aside and forgotten. It's a truly sad state of affairs that we've created down here! Nobody wants to feel like an outcast. Nobody wants to feel like a weirdo that doesn't fit in. But we need to remember that we never will. We will never be the ones forgotten or overlooked. We'll never be t...

Hebrews 10:36 NIV So much of life is a process, a journey. Very rarely does anything happen right away. Now that may be counter to what we'd prefer, but our preferences don't really matter. All that matters is God's plans, His timing, His promises. And as long as we're constantly working to keep moving forward in the direction that He's calling us then we better believe we're going to get there! We have to be willing to patient. We have to be willing to keep going whenever it seems like we're getting nowhere. We have to be able to get back on track after we've had an off day or made a mistake. We need to understand that small setbacks don't change the end goal. We have to realize that nothing can alter God's plans, and that if we're willing to focus everyone on following Him then nothing can keep us from reaching them. Some days are going to feel like we've taken a step backwards. Other days we'll feel like we've completely fallen...

Proverbs 19:20 NIV Truth is that we need God to help lead us in the right direction because let's be honest, we're seriously bad at finding it on our own! The problem is that His lessons and guidance can sometimes feel like we’re being punished. We like the easy way, the path of least resistance, but God wants better for us than that. He’s willing to lead us to challenges if they make us better. He’s willing to teach us the lessons that help us grow, whether or not like them or think we need them. I know it's a massive hit to our egos but the fact is that we're nowhere near as smart or strong as we like to convince ourselves. We don't have everything figured out. We rarely know what's best. We have a horrible habit of picking the worst possible option. We allow our pride to keep us from admitting our mistakes. And it often just hurts too much to even entertain the idea that we're just plain wrong. But it's okay. It's okay to get things wrong as long ...

John 15:4 NIV We all want to feel like we're doing something worthwhile. We want to feel like we're having an impact and making a positive difference in the lives of those around us. Or I guess at least some of us feel that way. But often times we go about it all wrong. We try to make a difference while still trying to be like the world around us. The more we focus on fitting in the less of a chance we have to be different. Kind of only stands to reason! As I've talked about in a ton of posts in the past, God gives us countless chances to make an impact for Him and His kingdom. He opens doors that we could never even hope of finding on our own. He leads us to people who need to hear His message of love and salvation. He puts us in just the right place at just the right time to make a difference, a difference that could potentially change a life! But if we're busy doing other things and distracted by the expectations of this world then we're going to miss those oppor...

Colossians 3:23 NIV I was talking to my new friend from Australia yesterday and they were talking about being discouraged. They just started their Instagram account to start sharing some Bible verses and some of their faith-inspired artwork, but that they hadn't seemed to find very much interest. Been there. We feel it in our hearts to start something, try something, change something but don't get those instant results that we thought we'd get. Discouragement is something that we bring on ourselves. We set these lofty goals and daydream of these perfect circumstances where everything goes better than we could imagine. We set ourselves up to be disappointed by assuming the best. That's not a bad thing. It's great to be an optimist and hope for the best. But we shouldn't build everything up to the point that it's impossible to be satisfied. The truth is that many of the things that we feel are important or valuable just won't matter to some. So many people...

Micah 7:8 NIV We will rise! No matter what you're going through you will make it. I was finishing up the book of Micah last night and this verse in chapter 7 really stood out with what we talked about yesterday. God is truly the epitome of faithfulness. He has always held up His end of the deal He has always fulfilled His promises. And He will always continue to do so! So many things and people want to see us broken. They want to see us hanging our heads in defeat. And whenever we allow our circumstances to get us down we give them that satisfaction. Whenever we allow ourselves to sulk or feel sorry for ourselves then we're letting ourselves become victims to the difficult situations that we're in the middle of. But as we discussed a few days ago, God made us to be conquerors. He designed us to take on this world and overcome the evil within it. He gave us His Spirit to help guide us through the minefield of life. He gave us every tool, every weapon, every opportunity to ma...

Psalm 105:5 NIV So the other day I got this random message from someone on Instagram that had found my Bible verse page over where I share all of these verses everyday. Dude's in Australia!! I never would have imagined that a seven day challenge to share a Bible verse each day would one day give me the chance to make a new friend on the other side of the world! It's beyond amazing how God works! I've been talking to this guy for three or four days now, and yesterday he asked, "How has God helped you this year?" I've been thinking about that since he sent the message, and honestly, that's a question that none of us consider enough. That's definitely going to be a long message back! But it also gave me an idea for today's post. Yesterday we talked about having to be patient and wait for God's plans to be fulfilled in God's timing. And the vast majority of us struggle being patient! While we're waiting to see how He's going to get us t...

Micah 7:7 NIV I was reading through Micah chapters 4 and 5 last night and the whole time I couldn't help but see the similarities in our world today. They're talking about the future salvation, redemption, and restoration of God's people. But they also talk about the challenges that will come before then. They discuss the coming exile and the rough times that lie ahead that the people will experience. But it all comes back around to continuing to trust in God's plans and timing. Being patient is one of the big lessons that I've taken away from this past year. It's one thing to be patient and keep trusting when life is going smoothly. But as we've all noticed over these past several months, life isn't always smooth and easy. In fact it's often hard, painful, confusing, scary, and more than we think we can handle. And we all want those hard days to hurry up and be over with. But what if we'd miss out on learning something or growing in our faith by...

1 Samuel 16:7 NIV God doesn't look at us like the world does. He doesn't worry about the physical side of things. He doesn't prefer the strong. He doesn't seek only the beautiful. He doesn't care who is wealthy or powerful. He doesn't look for the things that this world has deemed to be important. Instead, He chooses to look at the things that actually matter. He sees the heart that's willing to follow Him. He sees the person that's strong enough to try and fight the good fight every single day, even if they lose some here and there. He seeks out the one that is courageous enough to believe in His Son Jesus Christ. He rewards those who strive to be better and leave the broken ways of the world behind. In short, He sees something inside each of us that we may have never seen for ourselves. We've gotten used to the whims and ways of this world. We've been taught to look in the mirror and see only the flaws because that's what everyone else seem...

Romans 8:37 NIV Overcome. Defeat. Take control. Climb. Win. God made us to be champions in this life. Sadly we've accepted this defeatist mindset because we've lost some battles along the way. Truth is that it doesn't matter how many battles you may lose. You can always win the war. You can always claim the ultimate victory over whatever you may face in your life. So stop running scared and stand and fight! It's a weird thing how life's hard days work differently for some than others. For some they beat them down and get the better of them. They manage to convince some people that they're not good enough, strong enough, or tough enough to make it. They cause some to quit and never realize their full potential. They lead some to a life of shame a regret over what could have been. But for others, those same hard days forge them. They harden them. They turn them into some true warriors who will fight to the end because they know that it's worth it. Even if the ...

Exodus 9:16 NIV Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. Look, we all deal with fear. Maybe it's the fear of trying something new. It could be the fear of letting go of something we thought we needed. Perhaps it's the fear of walking away from a troubled relationship. Or it could simply be the fear of doing what's right in the face of tons of opposition. Whatever the case may be, fear is something that we all deal with. But God calls us to be courageous. He needs us to be bold. He needs people that are willing to step up and step out of the shadows and carry His truth to the world. He needs people who are brave enough to walk away from something that's bad for them so that they can show others that it can be done. He needs people who are bold enough to risk falling and failing so that they can learn to trust in Him in spite of their weaknesses and worries. And it can be scary. Seeing as how the world ...

Ephesians 6:10 NIV We need strong people in our world. No, not the ones who can lift cars and tear phonebooks in half. Don't get me wrong, those guys are cool too (I'm seriously pulling for Brian Shaw to win his 5th World's Strongest Man title), but that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is the people who are so solid in their faith that none of this insanity around us can shake them. We need the kind of people who stand strong and keep sharing the truth of the Gospel. Far too many people are all bendy and moldable. They're all too willing to do or say what others around them tell to all in order to be liked and accepted. I'm not putting those kind of people down because that isn't my place. I'm only saying that we need folks who have the courage to stick to their faith and refuse to budge for anything or anyone. There's a lot going on in our world. Everyone knows that. Everyone is well aware of the constant upheaval aroun...

Romans 12:18 NIV Well, I think most of us could agree that this is a lesson that our world could use pretty badly at the moment. While so many are being pulled into foolish arguments and petty disagreements, we need to remember that we have a responsibility to be good to everyone. And in a society where so many lines are being drawn, it's imperative to remember that love is supposed to cross those lines and bridges those gaps. Our world tells us to be kind to those who are kind to us. But if we only respect those who believe what we believe then we're missing out on a massive chance to actually live out the message of the Gospel. We're sharing a completely different story than what the cross tells us. Christ died for everyone. He did it for those who loved Him and trusted Him. He died for those who believed in His message. He died for the ones that chose to leave the ways of the world behind and follow Him. But He also died for those who still curse His name. He died for th...

James 1:20 NIV Well, I guess it was inevitable. I’m sort of ashamed that I’m going here. I mean, it’s what everyone else everywhere is talking about. I really didn’t want to add one more post like this to the endless supply already out there. But here we go. Here’s my one political post. Politics suck! They’re a waste of time. They’re a waste of energy. They’re nothing but the adult version of picking teams at recess. A bunch of people choosing sides and instantly resorting to hating anyone and everyone on the other team. It’s absolutely pathetic! I completely, totally, thoroughly, utterly despise politics because it seems to do nothing but bring out anger and frustration in everyone involved. There. There’s my post about politics! I’ve seen friend attacking friend. Family jabbing at family. Relationships undoubtedly strained. Words said that had no business being said. Messages being shared only to hurt those who don’t agree. So much anger. So much resentment. So much division. Please...

1 John 1:9 NIV Our world likes to water things down and spin them in a way that makes everything seem alright. I guess people figure that if they can somehow make their bad choices seem okay then they don't have to feel bad about them. That's a fine idea but it doesn't work. No amount of figuring or pleading or convincing can turn darkness into light. There is no way to take something that is wrong and make it okay. The cold hard truth is that sin is poison. It kills. Slowly, painlessly, quietly. It sits in our hearts and minds eating away little by little until it has completely consumed us. Sin wants us to think that it's okay because that's how it does the most damage. If we can be convinced that it's perfectly okay, a little won't hurt, or that sin doesn't even exist, then we're caught. We're trapped in the lies and headed for a life of confusion. Like I said yesterday, nobody likes admitting they screwed up. It's embarrassing. It's h...

Romans 2:5 NIV Scary right? The thought of having to learn something new, try something different, figure out a new plan, or look at something in a different way sends chills down the spines of anyone and everyone. And the thought of having to admit that we were wrong, well that’s just not happening! We are without a doubt creatures of comfort. We like easy. We crave normal. We enjoy routine. And above all we relish the thought that everything we do is okay. It’s easier that way. As scary as they may be, changes are some of the most crucial things that we truly need in life. Repentance is the most important change we can ever make. What you're doing may be working. What if something else worked better? The way you're thinking may be good enough. What if seeing things differently opened you up to a life you didn't know was possible? Sure, living in sin is fun and extremely easy. What if walking away from the filth brought you a joy that you couldn't explain? We need to s...

Matthew 19:26 NIV "Let's try the impossible because the possible just ain't working." I've always loved that quote and I woke up yesterday morning thinking about it. As often arrogant humans, we pretty much always try our way first. We see the trials and challenges in life and try to come up with every way possible to get through them. Over, under, around, this way, try that, maybe this will work, or even just turn and run away. We do everything we can think of, but at some point, what's possible just won't be enough. Some of the battles we face in life seem completely impossible. They're just so much bigger, harder, and longer than what we have to give. They take everything we have, and many times, so much more. But no matter how impossible something may seem it never means that God can't get us through it. It never means that He can't lead us to something amazing anyway. It never means that His ultimate victory is changed. So many things seem...

Psalm 103:19 NIV Well, I reckon it's a rather big day for our country, and I've been thinking about this one for a few days. I actually woke up this morning with something completely different on my mind but I'll share that one tomorrow. For today, I think this one is just something that we all need to keep in mind considering what we're experiencing these days. There hasn't really been an election like this one that I can personally remember. I guess with all the things going on in our world and all the things that we're facing people just seem to be taking it a little more seriously. There seems to be so many people that are interested this time around because of the truly polarizing topics and concerns that we're dealing with. What I wanted to share is that no matter who wins this thing, Christ is still King. He is seated on the throne of Heaven and no matter what happens down here, that fact will never change. I pray that we don't get so used to worl...

James 1:19 NIV Everything we do is open to interpretation. Unfortunately, sometimes things like anger and frustration cloud our ability to think clearly and we take things wrong. It's amazing how fast things get blown out of proportion all over a misunderstanding. You'd think that we would learn to slow down, calm down, make sure we have everything understood clearly, and then respond. Alas, I reckon we're just sometimes too impatient to take the slow and careful route. What we need to understand is that we're all human. Sure, we say and do things that we don't mean without thinking about them. We run ourselves headlong into messes and problems that simply wouldn't exist if we slowed down a bit. But people also take things out of context. They allow their rage or stress or whatever else to cloud their judgement and blind them to other perspectives. The point is that we're all human and we all make mistakes. So maybe we ought to give each other a little room....